


To Save a Merman

by LunarWalker



Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/M, characters might be a tad OOC, lore is based on several different mermaid-related media lol, mermaid, merman, updates will probably be irregular, will update tags and rating if needed
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-02
Updated: 2019-06-11
Packaged: 2019-10-02 14:18:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17265707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LunarWalker/pseuds/LunarWalker
Summary: She leaned in more to attempt to let her eyes adjust more to the lighting as to better make out what kind of fish it was. So focused on seeing into the water, MC barely had time to process fully what happened next.She saw a flash of white hair, the shimmer of scales, red liquid rising to the surface of the water, and a pained expression, all right before she lost her grip on the wet rocks and slipped into the water.





	1. To Encounter a Merman

MC walked along the empty shoreline. As it was early in the morning, ever during this warm season not many people would be out by the sea as it was still chilly from the night air. But something about the view she could only get at this hour always motivated her to come out to the beach this early. She made her way to a special spot she had found among the rocks. It brought her the best view of the sun coming out over the horizon. Sitting down, she adjusted her jacket as a cold breeze had picked up, making her shiver just a bit. She began to get situated and patiently waited for the beautiful sight of the light making such wonderful colors bouncing off the clouds and water.

However as the sun began to rise, she caught a glimpse of something splashing in the water from her view on the rocks. She carefully leaned closer, balancing her hands on the rock she sat on to get a better look. Anything under the water was harder to view at a glance due to the morning lighting. However as she watched the water, the faint light of the rising sun caught on something shiny moving through the water just below the surface.

_ Scales? Is it a fish? _ On closer inspection she determined it to be quite a big fish if indeed that's what it was.  _ Strange for something so big to be swimming near the rocks, usually it's only smaller fish or other small creatures if anything… _

She leaned in more to attempt to let her eyes adjust more to the lighting as to better make out what kind of fish it was. So focused on seeing into the water, MC barely had time to process fully what happened next.

She saw a flash of white hair, the shimmer of scales, red liquid rising to the surface of the water, and a pained expression, all right before she lost her grip on the wet rocks and slipped into the water.

 

...

 

The jolt of cold and wet hit MC, temporarily startling her before she came to her senses. Thankfully she had instinctively taken a breath before falling into the water and was currently holding it. After taking a second to collect herself, she opened up her eyes, intending to get her bearings and swim back to the surface. However, she didn't expect to see a pair of scared eyes looking back at her, along with a terrified expression of what looked to be a man. Then, looking to the side, she shockingly found…  _ A fish tail?? _ She mistakenly opened her mouth in shock and had to quickly swim up for more air. Breaching the surface, MC gasped for air before attempting to dive back in to get a better look. Once she was back in the water she took a moment to let her eyes adjust, so she could better survey the creature. But once she had, she noticed it now was seemingly struggling to get free. It's… or rather “his”... Shimmering magenta tail looked to be caught in between rocks and was the source of the blood she'd seen earlier. 

Before she even knew what she was doing, she was making her way forward to help him to get free. When she started to reach for his tail, she saw his fearful expression turn to panic, as if he seemed to think that she was going to hurt him. However she made no move to cause him harm, instead first attempting to push one of the rocks to get him free. When that didn't work, she swam back up for air before attempting to try something else. 

She looked at him to see fear still prominent in his expression. Despite that, she also found a look of pleading in his eyes, as if he was silently begging her to help him and not hurt him. She gave him a determined look to hopefully reassure him before reaching for the base his tail and pulling up. Thankfully, the tail started to move and soon it was free!

Realizing he had been freed, he quickly swam away as soon as she let go of his tail. It startled her for a moment and she once again had to take a breath at the surface before she done back in to watch his blue tail fins disappear into the dark foggy waters. 

 

...

 

Sitting back on the rocks she fell off of earlier, MC sat in stunned silence of what she had just witnessed.

_ A mermaid… or, merman rather… and I saved him…? _

Her thoughts were interrupted by a shiver overtaking her when a cold breeze came through. She sighed before speaking aloud to herself. 

“I should really go home and change…”

She made her way off the rocks and headed to her car.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

A school of fish swam by as Saeran made his way back. He was careful to avoid any areas that might contain sharks, as he was still bleeding a bit. He would be able to patch himself up once he got back “home”. He grimaced as he realized the verbal lashing he’d get if his caretaker realized where he was. In the distance he could see blond hair floating in the water, along with a shimmering black scales and purple fins. He swam towards the figure and, hearing him approach, she turned around to greet him with a frown that she quickly switched to an overly-sweet smile.

“You’re back! That was quick. I thought you'd be out longer. I thought you said you wanted to explore the reef.”

“Ah, right. Well there were some… complications…” He averted her gaze while speaking, but looking back up he saw one of her eyebrows raised. He was sure that if he told her he'd gotten caught in the rocks near the shore, a place he was never allowed to go, and was not only seen but  _ saved _ by a human… he'd never be allowed to leave her sight again.

“What kind of 'complications’ do you mean?” Her attention was drawn to the buildup of red liquid rising from his tail. “Oh you're bleeding! How did this happen?” Her voice was concerned, but there was a hint of anger in her voice. “I knew I shouldn't have let you go off on your own-”

“No wait!” He interrupted suddenly. Her expression changed to that of condescending expectancy as she waited for him to explain himself for interrupting her. “I-it was a accident! I cut myself on a sharp rock I didn't see while I was at the reef is all I came back right away to get it fixed.” He forced a smile and mentally scolded himself for lying, but a large part of him knew that he didn't have a choice if he wanted to be allowed to leave again. He pleaded with her with his eyes and hoped, no,  _ prayed _ that she would believe him and allow him to continue to explore by himself. After what felt like forever, she sighed and gave in.

“Alright then. Go on, you need to tend to that before the sharks catch the scent.” His face lit up at her words, he said nothing and simply nodded before swimming to the small cave where he'd left his supplies. Before he could enter it however, her voice stopped him. “Oh, and Saeran.” He turned back around to look at her.

“Yes, Rika?”

“Be more careful next time.”

“Ah- right. Of course. I'll make sure to look more carefully at my surroundings next time, I promise.”

Seemingly satisfied with his response, she swam off, leaving him to tend to his injury.

 

...

 

Working on healing himself gave Saeran some time to think. Rika had always told him never to come into contact with humans. She taught him that if he was spotted by a human, they would try to hurt him. That humans would only cause him pain and suffering. And yet…

That human from before… She'd saved him without a second thought. She'd had every opportunity to hurt him, to leave him, to call for other humans to help her trap him and take him away. But she didn't. She had helped him get free and hadn't attempted to stop him when he fled. For just a moment he allowed himself to think that maybe humans weren't all bad, before he stopped himself from going down that train of thought. That didn't stop his curiosity from persisting, however.


	2. To Meet a Merman

MC woke up early as she usually did, despite her staying up late last night. She'd found herself researching lore and conspiracies on merfolk for most of the night. No doubt she would be feeling it later during the day if she didn't have a decent amount of caffeine in her system. She dragged herself out of bed to get dressed and head out.

She decided to head over to her favorite cafe. The pleasant sound of chimes and the scent of coffee and pastries greeted her when she entered. Hearing the sound of the door chime, the barista and owner of the cafe stepped out of the back room behind the counter and smiled before welcoming MC into her shop.

“Good morning MC. What can I get for you?”

“Morning Jaehee. Hit me with a double foam caramel macchiato and a chocolate croissant? I need as much sugar and caffeine as I can get.”

“Oh dear, did you not get enough sleep?” Jaehee begin working on MC's order as they talked. It was early so there wasn't anyone else in the shop.

“Maybe just a little, but I'll be fine. Especially with your coffee.” Jaehee chuckled and finished up the drink, leaving it on the counter before putting the croissant in a paper bag. MC took her things and sat at a table before getting started on her drink. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Jaehee working behind the counter and a thought came to her. There still wasn't anyone else in the shop so she figured it would be fine to ask.

“Hey Jaehee?” MC started.

Jaehee continued to busy herself as she responded “Yes?”

“I was wondering… have you…” she stopped herself, her tired brain realizing she couldn't just say 'Have you ever been to the beach and seen a mermaid?’ Jaehee would think she was crazy! She decided to try phrase things differently to be safe. “Have you ever gone to the ocean and seen something strange?” She looked at Jaehee to see her expression change to contemplative thought.

“Hmm… besides strangers trying to dive off the cliff to show off?” MC laughed a bit and Jaehee continued, leaning on the counter. “Other than that, not really. You go to the beach more than I do anyway. Have _you_ seen anything strange?”

“Oh well…” She hesitated, quickly trying to come up with something believable as an excuse. “Nothing really unusual… I was just, y'know… browsing the internet late last night is all.” Jaehee raised an eyebrow at her.

“Is that why you didn't get enough sleep last night?”

“Uh, yeah! There's lots of weird stuff in the ocean y'know? Lots of um… interesting myths too? I just kinda got caught up in reading a bunch about it.”

“Ah I see. Myths and folklore especially can certainly get pretty interesting if I do say so myself, don't you think?”

“Yes! I think so too! Like um… mermaids? I looked at a lot of things about mermaids last night.” She figured this was the best way to approach the subject.

“Hmm, mermaids. Yes I'm sure there's a lot of conspiracies and tales of mermaids since they're one of the more popular myths.”

“Right… hey, do you know if there are any local legends? Like about things like… mermaids?”

“Well… I don't really know to be honest. I've never heard anything. But since you seem so interested I could try to see if there's any for you if you'd like?”

“Oh! Jaehee you don't have to do that!”

“Don't worry about it, I don't mind. And in exchange, you can accompany me to Zen’s performance next month.” Jaehee smiled at MC and laughed and MC couldn't help but join in.

 

...

 

MC could smell the scent of the sea from her car as she pulled into a parking spot. The cold sea breeze brushed her face when she stepped out of her car and looked out into the ocean waves. Ever since she’d moved to this town several years ago, something had always drawn her to the beautiful sight of the sea. Now though, there was something else. Part of her doubted it was possible. But a tiny part of her hoped that maybe, if she was careful and observant, she’d be able to see that merman again.

The sound of ocean waves and seagulls almost drowned out the sound of her footsteps on the sand. In the distance she could see her usual spot on the rocks near the cliffs. She had found that spot a couple days after she moved in and went to the beach for the first time. She’d wanted to get away from the boxes and see the beach she had moved close to. Something about being alone on the beach, listening to the waves, and seeing the sun bring color to the white clouds and the blue sea.

She climbed the rocks in the practiced careful manner she’d done so many times now and sat down. She looked out into the water to see if there was any sign of movement, but besides the gentle crash of waves on the rocks, she saw nothing. She sighed and figured there was obviously no way that he’d be there, so it was probably a better use of her time to just relax and enjoy the view she loved so much.

A few minutes later, MC felt so relaxed she had closed her eyes and let the warm rays of the sun heat her face. It was then that she heard a louder splashing sound then usual, indicating that there was something in the water, and she opened her eyes. Her hopes grew but she figured it was probably just a fish or something. That is until she saw a head peek out of the water.

The moment she saw him, she gasped. The moment he saw that she saw him, he quickly ducked back into the water.

“No no no wait! Don’t go!” MC called after him in the water, hoping that he would be able to hear her. It took a moment, but slowly, she saw the same white head of hair and mint colored eyes peek out from the surface of the water. She took a moment in her mind to confirm with herself that this was actually happening, and to calm herself down. Once she had, she worked up the courage to speak. “Uhm… hi?” He said nothing, so she continued. “My name is MC, what’s yours?” Still nothing. “I won’t hurt you, I promise.” MC gave him a gentle smile to try to reassure him. She saw his eyes turn down before he went back under. MC sighed dejectedly, at least she’d tried.

That was when she saw him lift himself up, leaning his torso onto the rocks and supporting the rest of his body with his arms. He was facing her, and his tail was hidden behind the rock he was leaning on. A concerned and timid look on his face persisted and he looked around before facing her. He mostly likely making sure nobody else was around. MC waited for him to make a move, hoping that if she let the conversation run at his pace he would be more comfortable. At this point she was able to see him more clearly. She noticed his white hair was tinted pink at the ends, his eyes felt deep and seemed to tell a story she was curious to find out, his skin was very pale and fair, and that despite mostly likely swimming an awful lot, he seemed rather thin.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. His eyes met hers and he spoke.

“Saeran.” He said. She stared at him and blinked, unsure of what to say. Apparently her confusion was clear on her face, because he spoke again. “My name… it’s Saeran.” Her eyes widened in realization and she smiled wide at him.

“It’s nice to meet you, Saeran.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Saeran felt his cheeks heat up. Something about her gentle smile as he said his name made him feel warm inside. He broke eye contact in order to get control of himself before speaking again.

“Yesterday… why did you save me?” He looked back at her to gauge her expression.

“Why?” He nodded. “Because you looked hurt, and also pretty scared. I couldn’t have just left you there now could I?”

“You could have! You could have left me there, or called for other humans, or… something! But you didn’t... and that’s what’s confusing to me…”

She looked shocked, and took a second to think before responding. “Well, to be completely honest I just kind of did it? When I saw that you were hurt I couldn’t really think about anything else other than helping you at the time. I only really gave myself to think about it after it happened really. And either way I probably would have done the same. I don’t think I could live with myself if I had just left you there. So I guess, that’s why.” He was silent for a moment. When he finally spoke up his voice was hesitant.

“I was always taught… that humans would only ever try to hurt me if they saw me… The fact that you saved me though... it made me question that thinking. So now I’m not sure what to think.” He stopped before looking into her eyes once more. “But I do know that I wanted to thank you. And since you did save me, I feel like I owe you.”

“Whoa wait, you don’t need to owe me anything, I was just doing the right thing.”

“I can’t just let it go though, I really want to do something for you to pay you back. Please?” MC seemed to consider it for a moment, then her expression changed and she spoke words that startled him.

“Then maybe… it sounds a bit weird and cheesy I guess but, would you let me be your friend?”


	3. To Befriend a Merman

Saeran went quiet at MC’s question. He didn’t know what to say. What would Rika say if she found out that he’d made friends with a human? It was bad enough he’d snuck off to swim near the shore instead of going where he’d said he would go, and twice at that! He didn’t want to imagine what kind of disappointment he’d have to face if she found out. At the same time though, he did offer MC the choice of what he could repay her with, and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t kind of want to. He hadn’t seen a human in what felt like forever, and with this one in particular he felt like he could trust. Which was strange since now they had only really met twice.

MC looked to be quietly waiting for his response, though she looked slightly nervous. He’d noticed that throughout the conversation she had waited for him to speak and hadn’t pushed him at all. Maybe it would be worth it to befriend her? He’d have to be extra cautious about it. He couldn’t be caught by other humans or Rika… he’d managed to avoid her suspicion so far so maybe…

“Okay.”

“Really?! I mean… really?”

“Yes but we have to be careful about it. I can’t be seen by other humans no matter what… and I can’t get caught near the shore or talking to you by Rika.”

“Rika?”  _ Shoot! I said too much! _ He mentally scolded himself before sighing.  _ Might as well tell her now… _

“Rika is my… guardian. She doesn’t want me near the shore because I could be seen by humans. Right now she thinks I’m over by the reef further in the water. Yesterday, she thought the same thing.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, why were you by the shore yesterday?”

“I… “

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

He seemed really uncomfortable about that question. MC figured it might be about something too personal.

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. I mean, we only just became friends after all. If it’s too personal I don’t want you to have to feel pressured to tell me.” He let out a sigh and smiled at her.

“Thank you… MC.” His smile was… nice. Now that she thought about it, he was pretty cute. But if mythology was anything to go off of, that was probably a given.

“So uh… what kind of stuff do you usually do… as a mermaid, er, merman?”

He tilted his head to the side in confusion.  _ Oh geez he’s cute… _

“What do you mean?”

“Y’know like, what do you do for fun? Hobbies? What’s daily life like?”

“Oh, well I usually like to find pretty plants and flowers underwater. In fact, that’s the reason why I said I was going to the reef. I’ve been there before and there’s lots of beautiful undersea flowers and other really pretty plants.”

“That sounds really nice. I kinda wish I could see it.” MC situated herself differently on the rock she sat on in order to be more comfortable. “So, what’s it like down there? Living in the ocean, surrounded by water and sea life every day. It seems like it’d be pretty interesting.”

“Hmm? Well, I suppose so.” He leaned his head on one hand and she could hear the sound of his tail gently swishing back and forth in the water. He closed his eyes before speaking again. “The ocean certainly has its fair share of wonders, but I guess… things can get a bit… lonely?”

“Lonely? Don’t you have that Rika person with you?” He looked back up at her.

“Ah, well yes… but a lot of the time she’s busy with other things and I can’t bother her.”

“Oh… I see. I guess that would get a little lonely. But well, I hope that I can help with that! If even just a little!” She smiled, and they shared a laugh.

 

…

 

The two had effectively gotten lost in conversation. They exchanged some stories, Saeran telling about a time he had gotten caught in the middle of a field of migrating jellyfish while sleeping, and MC talking about how she ended up being good friends with the owner of her local cafe and coffee shop. It wasn’t until her phone went off with a notification sound that MC realized she’d stayed longer at the beach then she usually did, at least according to her phone’s clock and the sunrise being already over with.

MC heard the distant sound of a car door shut and panic set onto her face. She turned her head and saw in the far distance the faint silhouette of a car and people. She turned back over to Saeran. He noticed the look on her face and became worried.

“What’s wrong?”

“There’s more people here. I don’t think you’d want to be seen by other people right?”

“No. But I… wanted to talk to you more…” MC smiled at him, he was really such a sweetheart…

“I’ll be here tomorrow! We can talk and hang out lots then!”

“Really?”

“Yeah! We can meet up right here. Not many people come by the bottom of the cliff anyway so we should be fine for the most part as long as we’re careful.”

“Hmm, if you're sure…”

“Of course! I'll meet you here at the same time tomorrow okay?”

“Okay! I'll see you later, MC.”

With that he pushed himself off the rock he'd been leaning on and submerged himself in the water. From the surface, MC saw a splash and a small bit of the tip of his tail peeking out from the water as he dove. She saw the light shimmer from the reflection off of his beautiful tail before disappearing completely in the water.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Saeran let himself float slowly on his backside facing the ever changing surface of the water. It was still fairly early so he figured he had a bit longer to wander around and think before he headed back. He took some time to contemplate things about this morning. He had befriended a human. One that seemed pretty nice, and if he was being completely honest, just pretty in general. 

He flipped himself back around and decided to wander near enough to the shore where he figured no one would see him. He ended up somewhere near the bottom of the cliffs. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted something at the base of the cliff. He turned his head to look at it and what he saw was an opening more than wide enough to swim through. Curious, he swam over to the opening and inside.

At first, it was a little dark, but as he made his way through it got progressively brighter. He continued on until he reached a point where the path widened into a larger opening, with no other way to go that he could see besides the way he had come in. He’d almost resolved himself to head back after looking around him for anything interesting before he followed the direction the light was coming from up and saw the confusing sight of the water’s surface. He swam up to it and carefully peeked out of the water to make sure he wouldn’t be spotted, only to be met with a wonderfully beautiful sight.

From the cave ceiling there were small openings letting in light that bounced off the surface of the water, giving everything a slight, almost ethereal glow. To his right side he saw an alcove that settled just above the gentle movement of the water. Stalactites and stalagmites of various sizes spotted the ceiling and floor of the ground of the cave. Everything looked as though it had been carefully carved out by the water for many, many years. As he admired the beauty of his find, a few thoughts came to him. _Has anyone else seen this place? Do any humans know this was here? Does Rika?_ _Rika… that’s right, I should be heading back now shouldn’t I…_ Saeran made a mental note of this places location and promised himself he’d come back here before diving back into the water and heading out through the underwater entrance he’d come through.

A quarter of the way back home, Saeran figured it may be a good idea to go by the reef and pick up a souvenir as to not cast suspicions that he was anywhere else. Arriving at the reef, he was greeted by all the beautiful colors. Seeing this sight always brought a smile to his face. There was something so calming about it. He swam around and spotted a large area full of different colored coral gently waving in the water’s current. He reached down carefully to a patch of blue and picked a small bit off before finally heading back.

 

…

 

Saeran approached the area he and Rika had been staying in, holding the coral he had plucked gently enough in his hand so it wouldn’t fall and float away.

“Rika, I’m back! I wanted to show you the-” He’d cut himself off as soon as he realized that she wasn’t there. “Rika?” He swam around her usual areas before coming to the conclusion that she must have gone somewhere for the time being.  _ Hmm… maybe I could have stayed out longer? No… that would probably only cause problems… _ He decided to settle down somewhere and rest for a bit and wait for her. The sand shifted at the brush of his tail as he sat and revealed something hidden underneath. He moved to shift the sand aside with his hand and uncover what was hidden underneath. There he found a tightly closed glass jar, one that he vaguely recognized as something he’d seen Rika having before, but hadn’t gotten a good look at whatever it held. He looked around him to make sure he wouldn’t be caught before uncovering the jar more in order to lift the jar and see its contents. Inside was dry, and he saw a few rolled up somewhat old looking paper tied with different colored string. He examined the contents closely and counted 5 different rolls. There was one with light blue string, one with green, one with red, one with purple, and one with a darker blue.

He wanted to look inside the jar at the papers but opening it would surely ruin it with the ocean’s water. In order to open it, he’d have to do it on the surface. It was then that he remembered the cave he had found before and figured that’d be a good a place as any to take a look, especially since he wouldn’t be caught there. Once again he looked around to make sure Rika wasn’t approaching before readjusting the sand where the jar was once hidden so it seemed like he hadn’t disturbed it. He then placed the coral he’d found with his things before heading off back to the cave with the jar in hand.

 

…

 

Arriving at the cave, Saeran swam to the surface and placed the jar onto the land above the water the hoisted himself onto it as well. Once he has situated himself comfortably, he reached for the jar and put his hand on the lid, before he stopped himself.  _ What am I doing...? _ He thought.  _ If Rika found out I took this… who knows what she’d say? … But she’s always kept so much from me… and I’ve already come this far… _ He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, steeling himself and gaining back his determination, before he tightened his grip on the lid of the jar and turned it. 

It took a bit of trying, but he eventually got the old lid loose and the jar popped open. Inside the jar, it smelled of stale air and old paper. It seemed as if it had been a while since it was opened. Carefully, he reached into the jar and pulled out one of the papers. Setting the jar aside, he examined the paper roll and saw he had pulled out the one with the light blue string tying it together. He pinched one of the ends of the string and took another deep breath before slowly pulling at it, undoing the knot that held the roll of paper in place. The roll of paper immediately shifted and began to unravel as he did, almost startling him at first. Once he’d completely removed the string, he placed it on the lid of the jar so he wouldn’t lose it. After being tightly rolled up for so long, the paper wanted to stay in it’s cylinder shape, so Saeran had to carefully unroll it so he wouldn’t damage it. When he finally was able to see what was on the scroll, he saw writing that was thankfully in a language he could understand instead of something foreign. However it had been a while since he had read and it was also a bit hard to see in the dimness of the cave’s limited light. He let his eyes adjust for a moment and continued to try and read it and the words became clearer. On the paper it talked about how merfolk are all inheritors of an innate power and ability to use magic, though the power to use it varied through each individual. It simply required focus on the goal in mind and the mermaid or merman would be able to make it happen. The things that merfolk are able to do however, are limited. From there the words trail off, as though this paper was taken from part of a larger set of pages.

Saeran was a tad taken aback, not only just to find out that he could probably use magic, but also because Rika had never once mentioned it to him. He wondered if he’d ever seen her use any, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t seem to remember…

He rolled up the paper he had and tied it back up as best as he could to be as similar as it was before he unrolled it and placed it back into the jar. Then, spurred on by his curiosity and his need to know more, he took out another roll of paper to take a look at. This time, it was the one wrapped with green string. He opened this one as he had done with the last so he could read it’s contents. This one was focused on one of the things merfolk could do with magic, as the last paper had described. He looked over it and found that it was describing the ability to grant humans the limited ability to breath underwater for a short time. Apparently, merfolk had the power to grant humans the power to magically breath as naturally as merfolk could for about two hours. After which, the magic would wear off and the human would go back to only being able to breath air without further help. To do so, one would only need to touch the neck and upper chest of a human and focus their power into the spell. The paper described it as one of the easier spells a mermaid or merman could do before cutting off again.

Saeran thought for a moment before he came up with an idea, and a smile unintentionally spread across his face. He rolled up the paper, tied it up and placed it back into the jar where it fit snugly next to the others. He closed the jar tightly and was about to grab it to take it back with him before he realized something. If he took it back with him, Rika could be there and might see him. And even if she wasn’t, there was no guarantee that he’d have another opportunity to sneak it away again. Making up his mind, Saeran looked around himself and spotted a few rocks near where he was seated. He placed the jar gently against the rocks and hoped that the water wouldn’t rise and disturb it in any way before sliding himself back into the water to swim back home, reciting and memorizing the words he’d read in his mind as he went.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Saeran? More like... SEAran! Ayyyyyyyyyy okay I'll stop.  
> But anyway, I just wanted to make a note here and say that I'm hella thankful to anyone who's read this so far and those who have commented or left kudos. It really means a lot to know that people actually enjoy reading this! That being said, I apologize for the long wait on this chapter, especially considering how close the last two chapters were in publishing. That was mainly because I wrote and finished the second chapter right after I finished the first. Aaaaanyway I made sure this chapter had lots to read and hopefully that makes up for it! I can't promise the next chapter will come very soon but I can promise that I'll be getting to work on it right away so I hope you look forward to that.  
> Also, a friend of mine decided to draw Saeran as I'd described him and posted it on her Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/p/BtKNZKan6yK/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=1w009lpfdbxrn) and Tumblr (https://summekat.tumblr.com/post/182359830683/saeran-as-a-merboi) so if you like you can go check that out as it came out pretty darn good if you ask me. That's all I have to say for now besides that I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that I hope you have a good day.


	4. To Swim with a Merman

MC sipped on the last few drops of her coffee in her parked car until it was empty. When she was finished, she carried the cup with her to a nearby trashcan in the parking lot of the beach. The cool morning breeze felt nice on her face that had been warmed by the hot drink. She hardly realized that she was walking faster than she normally would be to her usual spot. Maybe it was the caffeine, or maybe it was the eagerness and excitement pumping through her veins that had hardly allowed her to sleep the previous night. Either way the only thing on her mind was that today she'd made sure she didn't have anything else to do because she had managed to become friends with a gosh darn mermaid! Er, merman. In her head she was going over a checklist to make sure she had everything she needed.  _ Waterproof bag, check. Swimsuit and shorts, currently wearing so check. Spare dress, check. Water bottle…. Okay yeah check. _

By the time she had finished going through her checklist she'd arrived at the rocks due to her fast walking. After adjusting her bag to make sure it wouldn't slip, she made her way onto the rocks and sat down. Finding a comfortable position, she took the bag off her shoulders and stuck the straps as securely as possible between some rocks above the water so that she wouldn't have to wear it and so it wouldn't be carried away with the waves. Satisfied with her work, MC looked out to the horizon to watch the sun continue to rise and wait for her new companion to arrive. For a moment she let her thoughts empty and just took everything in. Time almost seemed to slip away from her as she did. And then…

“MC?”

She blinked out of her daze at the call of her name and looked to the water below her where she had heard it. Just as discussed there was Saeran, poking his head slightly out of the water and looking up at her. She couldn't help the smile that spread onto her face at the sight of him.

“Hey, you came!”

“I did. You… did want me to, right?” a nervous expression appeared with his words but MC quickly reassured him.

“Of course! I'm so glad you did! I was a little worried that you might not show up actually.”

“Um, well I did! Here I am! Ahaha…”

MC barely held back the giggle at his awkward yet earnest declaration. God he was cute…

“Ahem, so! Now that you're here we can…” oh no. After all the mental checklists and excitement she felt about getting to hang out with a real merman, MC managed to forget probably the most essential part. What were they even going to do?? It's not like they could just talk and swim around the shore all day. Okay maybe they could but it probably wouldn't be a very good idea considering how easily he could be spotted by someone if they did. Also there's no way she could swim out farther without the threat of a wipeout or getting a leg cramp and drowning or something! Though she hoped her aquatic companion wouldn't let that happen.

Saeran must've noticed her sudden shift from happy to worry and asked her “Hey, is everything alright? Is something wrong?”

“Oh, yeah, sorry. I just realized I was looking forward to this so much and I didn't even think to come up with something for us to do! I'm so sorry.”

“Oh! That's not so bad!”

“It's… not?”

“Yep!” Saeran’s bright smile directed towards her made her face feel warm. Before she could question any further, he spoke again. “Actually I kind of have something we could do, if you don't mind that is?”

“Really? Like what?”

“Okay well it's… uh. Okay well you see… yesterday, after I left? I found something really interesting.”

“Interesting? Interesting how?”

“Um, well I sort of found out that I might be able to... maybe... use magic?”

“Really?! Wait isn't that common for merfolk? Or is that just in the movies?”

“Um…”

“Nevermind, you were saying?” MC leaned forward on her perch and was nearly 100% sure her eyes has stars in them or something.

“Right, well. I've never actually used any magic before so… actually now that I think about it this might not be a very good idea…”

 

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“What? What is it? Tell me!”

MC’s excitement was a little startling, but Saeran couldn't deny it was also kind of adorable?

“W-well I found out about this… spell I could try to do. Of course I mean, I won't if you don't want to! But, basically there's this spell that gives humans the ability to breathe underwater like I can. For a short time that is.”

“Wait, really?? You can really do that?”

“I… well I'm not entirely positive that I can, or even if it's safe…” He trailed off as his eyes met with the still excited MC’s expression. “But I mean, I guess I could try it if you'd like? Thing is I also found this underwater cave and after finding out about this spell… I couldn't help but think that I wanted to show it to you.”

“Absolutely!”

“Huh?  A-aren’t you worried? It might not be safe!”

“Yes, but well, I trust you! You wouldn't let me drown would you?”

“No! I would never...”

“So it'll be fine then!”

“But…! Hm… okay. If you're really okay with it.”

“Yep! So uh, how does it work?”

“Well it… could you maybe lean in closer?”

MC didn't hesitate to follow his instructions, and Saeran blushed a little at her being closer to him. His hands a little shaky, he placed one hand on her neck and the other in the middle of her upper chest as the instructions told him to do. Now, not only did he feel awkward about their position, but for some reason his face felt warmer due to being able to just slightly feel MC’s pulse and breath. He had to turn his head away from her eyes, lest he be unable to focus properly. Also as a precautionary measure, he closed his eyes, and tried to only think about what he had to do. Saeran breathed deeply, thinking only about the goal of the spell. He wanted to allow MC to breath underwater. He wanted to be able to show her the beautiful cave he'd found. He wanted to swim with her and see her pretty smile when he showed her all the things he liked, like the reef, and the school of shimmering fish that sometimes would swim around… No, focus!

Yet during his mental ramblings he felt his hands become warm. He looked back at MC and found that they were glowing! His eyes widened at the soft blue glow slowly fading away. MC had at this point closed her eyes, thus took no notice of this. When the glowing had completely died down, he removed his hands from their places at stared at them. From the loss of contact, MC blinked open her eyes.

“Did it work? Is there anything else you need to do?”

“I… I think I did it.” He said, still bewildered by what he'd seen.

“Should I try it, then?”

“I suppose?”

MC took off the flip flops she was wearing and shoved them into a side pocket of her bag. She then arose from her seat on the rocks and carefully made her way down into the water. Saeran, wanting to be courteous, offered her a hand to more easily help her in. She took it with a smile that set off that warm feeling in him again. When MC was submerged enough, she breathed deeply in and out, Saeran guessed it was to brace herself, before completely submerging. Saeran quickly followed after her and saw her with her eyes shut tightly and clearly holding her breath. He moved closer to her and gave her a tap on the shoulder. Her left eye opened to look at him

“Are you okay?” He asked.

MC opened her mouth but quickly shut and covered her mouth it as the air she was holding left her. The sudden panic that set in her eyes made Saeran lurch forward and grab onto her shoulders to try and reassure her. Then her expression changed to that of surprise, then confusion, and then to excitement. The hands she was using to cover up her mouth we're slowly removed and Saeran realized, she was breathing! The smile MC was giving him was infectious. Then suddenly he was in her embrace. MC’s arms were wrapped around him and he completely froze up. That warm feeling coming for him once more. He could hear her exited laughter in his ear, which definitely didn't help the blush, but the sound of it somehow relaxed him and he found himself hugging her back. A bit more timidly then her but still.

Saeran chose to ignore the feeling of disappointment that arose in the back of his head when MC released him from her hug, and instead watched her as she attempted to speak underwater for the first time. Eventually, she managed the proper amount of confidence to do so.

“Ah… ah? I can talk! I can breathe! Saeran you did it!”

“I-I guess I did!”

“This is great! Okay so how does this work? Is it like, infinite? Or is there some sort of time limit? Or is it until I'm not underwater for a certain amount of time or something?”

“Well, according to what I read when I found out about this spell, it's supposed to last for about two hours?”

“Two hours. Okay. So, what should we do now?”

“Right! Follow me! There’s… something else I found yesterday that I want to show you.”

“Okay! Lead the way!”

Turning his body, Saeran begin to swim in the direction of the cliffside where he'd found the cave, MC swimming after him. After a minute or so he noticed that MC had grown a bit farther behind him and realized that even though she could breath underwater she didn't have the, well, ‘necessary limbs’ to keep up with his normal pace. So he slowed to a stop to wait for her to catch up. When she'd gotten close enough, Saeran offered her a hand.

“Here, I can help you swim faster if I hold on to you.”

“Oh, thank you!” MC took Saeran's outstretched hand and once the contact was made Saeran realized his blush and faster heartbeat had returned. He began to swim with her hand still in his anyways and in the back of his mind he pondered about how nice it felt. This whole thing was nice. MC was nice. And also pretty… Saeran blushed harder at his intrusive thoughts and shook them out of his head, hoping MC didn't take notice.

As the two swam on, Saeran noticed that MC had gone quiet. He worried for a moment that something had gone wrong, or that maybe she wasn't enjoying herself? However when he turned his head to look at her he could see plainly on her face that it was quite the opposite. There was a look of pure awe and excitement clearly painted all over her face. For a moment he watched her eyes light up as a school of fish swam by. It was something Saeran found so normal and just part of his everyday, and yet just because of the look on MC’s face he suddenly felt as if he must have been taking the underwater world he lived in for granted.

It didn't take long for them to arrive at the cave entrance. Saeran was almost sad he wouldn't get to see more of MC’s enamorment as they swam, but he hoped that she'd find the same amusement out of what he actually wanted to show her.

“Okay, you'll need to be careful alright? O-otherwise you might get scratched by the rocks.”

“You got it! Is this the place by the way? That you wanted to show me?” At the adorable curiosity that spread across her face, he couldn't help but smile and chuckle a bit.

“Almost! Just follow me and be very careful and we'll be there soon.”

MC nodded and followed closely behind Saeran, who made sure to swim a little slower for her to make sure that she could keep up with him and so that she wouldn't get hurt bumping into the rough walls of the cave. Soon, they arrived at the wider area of the cave.

Saeran faced MC. “Up here!” he said, before guiding her up to the surface of the water

 

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MC watched above her as she and Saeran swam upwards. A cool blue light was illuminating the surface of the water. When the two breached the surface, MC’s eyes widened at the beautiful sight of the cave. Light reflecting on the rippling water danced across the walls. It was undeniably wonderful.

“Do… do you like it?” MC took her eyes off of the cave walls and smiled brightly at Saeran.

“It’s beautiful! You said you just found this yesterday?”

“Yeah! It was after I left. I’d just been swimming around and ended up finding the entrance to this place. After I saw it and found out about that spell, I knew I wanted to show it to you.”

“Really? That’s so sweet of you…” MC felt a floating feeling in her chest to add to the floating and wading that she was currently doing. For a moment, the two of them shared a gaze and a smile.

“Ah! Right, um, over here!” Saeran led MC to a ledge, where she carefully lifted herself up on and Saeran followed suit. MC’s eyes wandered back to the dancing lights on the cave walls.

“I wonder if anyone else knows about this place. I mean it must have been here for a long time to get this big right?”

“Hmm, maybe? Humans have non-magic stuff to breath underwater that they use sometimes, don’t they? I mean, that’s what Rika told me at one point anyways.”

“You mean like scuba gear? Yeah, then probably someone’s found this place before. Maybe I should look into it… Do you think Rika knows about this place too?”

“I’m not really sure. I mean she’s never mentioned it. It’s pretty close to the shore so maybe not?”

“Hmm…” MC’s thoughts seemed to drift away as she was hypnotized by the slow dancing lights and the relaxing subtle sound of the water. She faintly heard movement from where Saeran was sitting, then the sound of something clinking. She looked to see what he was doing and saw him reaching behind some rocks against the wall of the cave. From there he pulled out a jar filled with what looked like scrolls?

“What’s that?” she asked.

“This is… how I found out about that spell. These little papers had it written on one of them. I haven't looked at all of them yet… I kind of… maybe… stole it?”

“Stole it? From where?”

“Well I… I found it under the sand where Rika and I are staying… I think it might belong to her… I don’t even want to think about the trouble I might be in if she found out that I found it and took it but… I don’t know… she never really tells me about anything. Except that I need to stay away from the shore and from humans of course but well… obviously I’m not doing that either… haha…”

MC somehow saw something sad in Saeran’s eyes. She placed a hand on his shoulder to, hopefully, comfort him.

“Can I tell you something?” Saeran asked without looking at her.

“Of course.”

“To be honest, I’ve always felt some kind of pull towards the shore. I don’t know what  it is I’ve just always felt that way. But I can’t go very close with Rika around because she doesn’t like me getting close to the shore. It’s not safe. But I can’t help it. I end up sneaking near the shore whenever we’re around here. I hasn’t happened with any other shore we end up near but this one. That’s… why I ended up stuck that day. I wasn’t paying attention and got stuck between the rocks. I don’t know what I would have done if you hadn’t saved me. Most likely, Rika would have found out about me going near the shore and I would have really gotten punished for it. So again, thank you for saving me.”

“Anytime, hehe! So, is there any reason you can think of that you might be drawn to the shore of this beach specifically?”

“No clue… I mean there’s not really anyway for me to figure out what it is beyond the shore is there?”

“Hrmm… Hey can I… can I see that jar of yours for a minute?”

“Huh? Sure?” Saeran handed her the jar and MC took it. She struggled to open the lid for a moment but it soon opened with a satisfying pop. She reached into the jar and randomly pulled out a scroll. This one had a green string tied around it.

“That was the paper that told me about the breathing spell I used on you. The one with the light blue string talked about merfolk being able to use magic in the first place.” Saeran said. 

MC Untied the string and took a look at the scroll. Her eyes scanned the words on the paper and she gave a curious “Huh.” before re-tying it and placing it back into the jar. She reached her hand in again and pulled out another scroll, this time it was one with a dark blue string.

“What’s this one?”MC asked, showing Saran the scroll.

“I’m not sure. I didn’t look at any of the other ones. “

MC carefully undid the string and unfurled the scroll.

“What does it say?” Saeran leaned over to look over her shoulder.

“It says… um… something about… wait what?”

“What? What is it? I can’t read it from here.”

On the paper it described that if they wished it, Merfolk could temporarily acquire legs and walk on land as humans do. The spell would be effective until water touches their legs or until the sun goes down. “ _ The moon calling in the tide also calls back all those who dwell in the sea. _ ” And then they would have to recast the spell again.

 

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“It says… there’s a way for you to have legs! Temporarily but still! Here look.” MC handed him the scroll. He took it and his eyes ran over the words.

“This… this is… this is amazing! I… I never knew that I could… Hey MC?”

“Yes?”

“D-do you think maybe… we could try this. I mean… I don’t really know my way around the shore and I think I’d feel a lot better if you were there to help me-”

“Of course! Oh, uh sorry to cut you off there, but of course I’ll help you! Uh, I’ll probably need to get you some clothes to wear… and shoes probably… Oh! I could show you the town! And the coffee shop I always go to that my friend runs!” 

Saeran’s eyes sparkled progressively more and more as MC spoke of her plans to get to the shore. He was filled with so much excitement and joy he couldn’t help himself and grabbed her in a hug. MC was startled and went silent, which in turn snapped Saeran out of his stupor and he released her from his embrace.

“I… s-sorry.” Their faces were so close. MC’s face was bright red, and he knew his face was probably just the same.

“Um… you’re eyes are… really pretty.” she said.

“Y-yours are too…”

His face was too warm… but… he felt locked onto their shared gaze. Neither of them seemed to want to move from their rather awkward position. Eventually, he forced himself to pull away from MC and an awkward silence swept over them for a moment.

“A-anyway... I’ll have to get you some clothes to wear so you can walk around normally. How about I bring them tomorrow?”

“That sounds great. Thank you so much MC!” MC smiled softly at him.

“Say… how long have we been out here?”

“Hm… I’m not sure… I think I lost track of time, I’m sorry!”

“It’s okay! But, maybe we should go back now, just to be safe?”

“Of course! I’ll escort you back.” Saeran tied the paper back up and secured it in the jar where he left it in the same place as before. The two of them slipped back into the water, and Saeran took MC’s hand to lead her back to the shore

 

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…

 

MC peeked out of the water to check their surroundings before she returned back to the rocks. There were just a few  people around, but they were much farther away from the rocks then they would need to be concerned about. Still, MC gestured for Saeran to stay below the water and swam over to a spot where she could pull herself up. Thankfully, her back was still secure where she had left it. She turned to the water where Saeran was waiting and leaned down. Saeran’s head surfaced to speak to her before she left

“MC? You’ll be back here tomorrow right? At the same time?”

“Yep! It’s a date!”

“A… date?” red washed over the merman’s face once more.

“Ah, that’s… it’s… just an expression?” 

“Oh, of course.”

MC’s heart skipped a beat at the thought of a date with Saeran.  _ I really shouldn’t be thinking about it like that but… honestly… could I? MC _  decided to push those thoughts to the side for the moment to think about later.

“Wait, you know what a date is?” MC asked.

“W-well, kinda? I’ve gotten close enough to humans who were on one before, on a boat out in the ocean? Rika explained the concept of it to me then.”

“Oh. Well alright then. I’ll see you tomorrow Saeran!”

“See you… MC.” He smiled at her with a wave and re-submerged back into the water. MC watched the light of the sun subtly reflect off his beautiful scales as he swam away. Now, she had a bit of shopping to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, So I know I completely missed the boat on MerMay, but there was no way in hell I wasn't going to make sure this next chapter didn't come out on Saeran's birthday! Also next month is Saeran Choi Week 2k19 which I wouldn't be caught dead not participating in again so here's hoping the next chapter comes out by that deadline. Until then, thanks so much for reading!


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